The present invention relates to a method for processing information implemented on a work station or a personal computer and, in particular, such documents as texts, tables or graphs. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for processing a single compound document which corresponds to a combination of a plurality of documents prepared or edited with use of a plurality of application programs. The invention also concerns a method for processing different types of documents prepared with use of different kinds of application programs, by which an identical function is applied to the different kinds of documents.
Much attention has been focused on such a technique as to embed a document (such as a chart, figure or table prepared with use of drawing software, or a table or graph prepared with use of a spreadsheet program) prepared with use of one application software or program into a document (such as a document prepared with use of word processing software) prepared with use of another application program. Such a technique is described, e.g., in a magazine entitled "NIKKEI OPEN SYSTEM", January 1994, pp. 143-150 (which will be referred to as reference 1, hereinafter). In this technique, a document prepared with use of one application program can be embedded into a document prepared with use of another application program. Further, when an operator or user double-clicks the embedded document, this causes the application program having prepared the document to be started up or activated, so that the user can perform edits over the document. Furthermore, functions made available by the application program can be utilized in an external program in the form of functions.
Also disclosed in a magazine entitled "BYTE", 1993, pp. 22 and 24 (which will be referred to as reference 2, hereinafter) is a technique which follows. That is, in the disclosure, in the case where an application program exports its functions to external programs, when a language by which the operation spanning a plurality of application programs can be described is employed, the functions of the application program can be called from other application programs. As a result, change in the format of a document contained in a spreadsheet program, insertion of a text therein or the like can be realized, for example, on a word processor program.
A document corresponding to a combination of a document prepared with use of an application program as well as a document prepared with use of another application program and embedded thereinto, will be called a compound document, hereinafter. Further, when documents 2, 3, . . . , and n are embedded into a document 1, the document 1 is called a parent document for the documents 2, . . . , and n; whereas the documents 2, . . . , and n are called child documents for the document 1.
In addition, descendent documents are defined as follows. That is, (1) a child document for the document 1 is defined as a descendent document for the document 1. (2) A descendent document for the child document of the document 1 is defined as a descendent document for the document 1.
A relationship between the parent and child documents is a relative one. More specifically, when the document 2 is embedded into the document 1 and the document 3 is embedded into the document 2, the document 2 is a child document of the document 1 and at the same time, is a parent document of the document 3.
In reference 1 and 2, a function made available by an application program can be exported to an external program. However, a command for calling the function varies from application program to application program (which is also described even in reference 2). In other words, in references 1 and 2, no consideration has been paid to the fact that `a descendent document is also processed at the same time on an editing interface of the parent document`.
Accordingly, when a command is executed to the parent document during edition of the compound document, the command cannot be applied to its descendent document. For example, when a search command for a character string is executed on a word processor program, the searching cannot be applied to a table prepared with use of a spreadsheet program and embedded into a word-processor-prepared document and also to a character string in a figure prepared with a drawing software program. In other words, when it is desired for a user to process a descendent document within a compound document, it is necessary to perform the following operations. That is, an application program as the creator of the descendent document must be started up and a command must be selected from a menu or the like of the application program. Further, when there are present a plurality of descendent documents, the user must respectively execute the aforementioned operations with respect to each of the descendent documents.
Furthermore, references 1 and 2 cannot process a plurality of documents prepared with different kinds of application programs with use of a single command. For example, it is impossible to judge with use of a single command whether or not there is present a specified character string in the plurality of documents. In order to apply the same function to the plurality of documents, application programs corresponding to the respective documents must be started up and respective commands must be selected from associated menus of the application programs.